Over 24 hours in Kabul, brutality, trauma, moments of grace

In this undated photo Hemad Sherzad poses to camera with two M-4 weapons on his two sides at one the former Afghan officials house, pictures of Afghan hero "Ahmad Shah Massoud" and Afghan warlord "Abdul Rashid Dostum" can be seen on his right. After several sleepless nights from the unrelenting thunder of U.S. evacuation flights overhead, Hemad Sherzad joined his fellow Taliban fighters in celebration from his post at the airport. "We cried for almost an hour out of happiness," Sherzad told The AP. "We yelled a lot — even our throat was in pain." (Courtesy of Hamed Sherzad via AP) In this undated photo Hemad Sherzad poses to camera with two M-4 weapons on his two sides at one the former Afghan officials house, pictures of Afghan hero "Ahmad Shah Massoud" and Afghan warlord "Abdul Rashid Dostum" can be seen on his right. After several sleepless nights from the unrelenting thunder of U.S. evacuation flights overhead, Hemad Sherzad joined his fellow Taliban fighters in celebration from his post at the airport. "We cried for almost an hour out of happiness," Sherzad told The AP. "We yelled a lot — even our throat was in pain." (Courtesy of Hamed Sherzad via AP)

By TAMEEM AKHGAR, MATTHEW LEE, LOLITA C. BALDOR, RAHIM FAIEZ and CALVIN WOODWARD / Associated Press September 5, 2021 12 min read

Bone-tired like everyone else in Kabul, Taliban fighters spent the last moments of the 20-year Afghanistan war watching the night skies for the flares that would signal the United States was gone. From afar, U.S. generals watched video screens with the same anticipation.

Relief washed over the war’s winners and the losers when the final U.S. plane took off.

For those in between and left behind – possibly a majority of the allied Afghans who sought U.S. clearance to escape – fear spread about what comes next, given the Taliban’s history of ruthlessness and repression of women. And for thousands of U.S. officials and volunteers working around the world to place Afghan refugees, there is still no rest.

As witnessed by The Associated Press in Kabul and as told by people The AP interviewed from all sides, the war ended with episodes of brutality, enduring trauma, a massive if fraught humanitarian effort and moments of grace.

Enemies for two decades were thrust into a bizarre collaboration, joined in a common goal – the Taliban and the United States were united in wanting the United States out. They wanted, too, to avoid another deadly terrorist attack. Both sides had a stake in making the last 24 hours work.